Fujitsu Builds “JAXA Sphere” Communication Platform to Strengthen Coordination among JAXA Employees

Fujitsu Builds
“JAXA Sphere” Communication Platform to Strengthen Coordination among
JAXA Employees

Contributes to ever-more efficient and
flexible work styles and R&D independent of place

TOKYO, Mar 23, 2017 – (JCN Newswire) – Fujitsu
today announced that it has built “JAXA Sphere,” a new communication
platform based on Office 365, Microsoft’s integrated information sharing cloud
service. This works to provide an environment that more efficiently and
flexibly supports strengthened coordination among employees of the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the agency’s R&D activities. All
JAXA employees and the employees of its partners (companies and cooperating
organizations that carry out operations at various JAXA facilities) began using
this platform in January 2017.

JAXA Sphere is a platform that stimulates real
time communication between employees, enabling smooth coordination through
online meetings, joint document editing functionality, and an understanding of
who is present at work. The platform supports improvements in the speed and
efficiency of business processes and R&D. Fujitsu has built a communication
platform based on Office 365 that provides overall optimization, through a
system design that takes into consideration the flow and routing of email
transmission and reception which are comprised of multiple systems, as well as
a network design that ensures security.

Going forward, Fujitsu will continue to leverage
its information and communication technology (ICT) to support new ways of
working in JAXA’s operations and R&D.

About JAXA Sphere

All JAXA employees, about 1,500 people, as well
as the employees of the partners (companies and cooperating organizations) who
participate in operations at all of JAXA’s 23 locations in and outside Japan,
have access to JAXA Sphere at any time, from anywhere. The system enables
efficient progress in business and R&D without regard to time and place,
because members of a group can hold meetings and discussions online and work
together to create or edit materials without gathering in one place.

In addition, because it provides functionality
to check the presence of any employee based on the status of their PC, as well
as an instant messaging function to easily send messages, the system promotes
active communication not only within units, but between locations. With JAXA
Sphere, JAXA aims to promote efficient and flexible ways of working and
R&D.

About Fujitsu’s Initiatives in Implementing JAXA
Sphere

1. Provides a system design that makes use of
Fujitsu’s own in-house deployment experience and knowledge of JAXA’s systems
and work characteristics

As a communication platform for JAXA, the agency
tasked with launching rockets, managing satellites, and supporting the
International Space Station, it was critical to have a system design fine tuned
to the special requirements of its operations, including security, reliability,
and easy maintenance. Using its experience of deploying its own in-house
communication platform, as well as its knowledge-developed over many years
handling systems, such as JAXA’s satellite control systems-of the special
characteristics of JAXA’s business and their unique network environment and
data structure, Fujitsu offered a variety of proposals from the system concept
stage that are reflected in the system design, including a network connection
method that offers strong security and an overall email delivery flow method.
In addition, Fujitsu built the communication platform while considering system
operation rules for events unique to JAXA, such as satellite launches, to limit
their impact on business systems.

2. Implementing group training and providing
smooth migration, including operations

Using the experience from its own internal deployment
in implementation support, Fujitsu worked to promote usage by setting up a user
support site and preparing manuals that can be used at any time. It also held
group training with JAXA’s information systems department at six locations
throughout Japan, including at Tanegashima Space Center to introduce hands on
functionality demos, as well as by creating videos aimed at those who could not
attend the group training or for use in iterative learning. Through these
initiatives, and by building the system in just about five months, operations
for all employees, both within and outside Japan, were migrated from the old
system just eight months after construction began, supporting early adoption.

Using its experience from its internal
communication platform implementation, Fujitsu is strongly supporting
innovative activities at JAXA through meticulous support focused on the user.